Tosh Point No

There seems to be a finite amount of freedom to go around. They gave some to the gays, so they’ve had to cut some from another group. Sadly they’ve had to take some from the ladies. Women are the new gays.

The takebacks include defunding Planned Parenthood, defunding contraceptives, de-personhooding women and other schemes to keep women down. It also doubles as a long-range GOP jobs program. Without childcare or pre-K programs, women with children have to stay home so men can take the jobs.

So called “rape jokes” are part of the takebacks. It’s about taking freedom – of assembly at a comedy club, in this case – away from women. Kudos to the courageous woman in the audience who said that rape jokes aren’t funny. Her statement is described as heckling. Her simple comment destabilized the daring Tosh. He responded by suggesting a gang rape.

I loathe the band of comic brothers [and sisters] with their mealy-mouthed chickenshit excuses for rape jokes. I loathe the equivalency examples in this national conversation: it would be as if a woman comic made a Bobbitizing joke, and some guy said that’s not funny and then she sicked all the gals with knives in the audience on the complainant. As if.

They talk freedom of speech, lecture about comic tradition and yes they have daughters and girlfriends and it pains them to defend their fellow comic Daniel Tosh but defend him they must.

To review: rape is not about sex. It’s about power and dominance. It’s true of prison rape, child rape, date rape which are also staples of comedy clubs. Comedy does club.

Do not even suggest that I don’t have a sense of humor. Get your rape joke heckle on. It’s apparently quite effective.

Kate Clinton is a faith-based, tax-paying, America-loving political humorist and family entertainer. With a career spanning almost thirty years, Kate Clinton has worked through economic booms and busts, Disneyfication and Walmartization, gay movements and gay markets, lesbian chic and queer eyes, and eight presidential inaugurals. She still believes that humor gets us through peacetime, wartime, scoundrel time and economic down times. Visit her at www.KateClinton.com.